US singer songwriter Billie Eilish, pictured arriving at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, won the award for Song of the Year(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A seat-filler at this year's star-studded Grammy Awards ceremony has shared what the swanky event is really like when the cameras stop rolling. A seat-filler is a person who's been hired to temporarily sit in a chair left by a celebrity so the audience at an awards show or other televised event always looks full and engaged.
One woman was chosen out of around 32,000 applicants and got to spend the evening rubbing shoulders with celebrities in Los Angeles - and even had an award-winning A-List star tell her she was "looking beautiful". There were 350 seat-fillers picked in total, and they all moved around the room depending on where they were needed.
On Reddit, she branded the evening "the most surreal night" and revealed it was "absolute chaos" during the advert breaks. She spent the majority of her time "on the main floor" and said it was a "once in a lifetime experience".
The event is often dubbed "music's biggest night", with a host of the industry's biggest stars turning out and winning big. 2026's ceremony was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, while top prize winners included Bad Bunny, who scooped the coveted Album of the Year gong; Billie Eilish who bagged the award for Song of the Year; British star Olivia Dean, who was awarded the Best New Artist; and many more wins.
Applicants selected to be seat-fillers aren't paid for their time and have to hand over their phones before entering the event. One woman chosen to attend this year shared a string of behind-the-scenes secrets.
On Reddit, she said: "It's absolute chaos during the commercial breaks. The second they go to commercial, people are up and moving and then about 60 seconds before it goes live again, they start making announcements to clear the aisles and take a seat and everyone's scrambling (which is where the seat-filling comes in!)"
She also explained the way the stage is split up for the varying performances and sets is "really interesting", while some of the performances "were filmed somewhere else" and are played on screens instead.
The seat-filler "was moving around most of the night" and was "fourth in line to arrive" at the ceremony. When she was taken into the venue, she was "immediately" put at a table "front and centre on the floor with three other seat-fillers, surrounded by Justin and Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and so many more".
Unfortunately, this didn't last. She continued: "About 30 seconds before the show went live, Lady Gaga's guests got there and said it was their table so we moved. I sat on the side for a little with people who bought tickets and other seat-fillers and then got a spot on the floor behind the main tables next to Sza's parents and I decided to stay there for a little because nobody came for the seat and I could see everything pretty great."
Before the final award of the night, she ventured to the front of the venue and lucked out with a spot between Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga's tables. She was able to watch while "Harry Styles presented and Bad Bunny accepted."
Her choice of outfit - a floor-length green velvet dress - proved to be a hit, even drawing praise from Jamie Foxx.
She said: "One of my first experiences on the floor was Jamie Foxx saying 'looking beautiful tonight'." She later said this may have to be her 'fun fact' about herself whenever the opportunity arises.
Despite the excitement, the seat-filler did experience "a little anxiety" in the morning but "wasn't nervous at all" once she got to the Grammys. On how to be chosen as a seat-filler, she shared people have to submit a headshot but conceded "they say it's a lottery".
Some seat-fillers had been chosen "from a casting agency" because they looked "super LA". Still, there were "all different types of people" chosen as seat-fillers for the star-studded event.
She added: "Apparently something happened at a previous event where a seat-filler made a celeb uncomfortable because they wouldn't stop staring at them so they said this year they had 'preferred seat-fillers' this year too."
